Travel & Tourism

The Yorkshire Dales spa with an outdoor infinity pool that’s just been named one of the best in the UK

If you're looking for a new spa to give you that little slice of luxury, then we have just the one for you.

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall - 9th December 2023

Nadarra Spa, a spa in the Yorkshire Dales, has just been crowned as one of the very best luxury spas in the whole of the UK.

Located inside The Coniston Hotel in Skipton, the spa received the impressive accolade from SpaSeekers.com.

So if you’re looking for a new spa to give you that little slice of luxury, then we have just the one for you.

The Hoot reports that Nadarra Spa has recently been crowned one of the very best in the UK.

Praised for its ability to relax guests from the moment they enter the 1,400-acre estate, the Nadarra Spa truly is a piece of heaven nestled in the Yorkshire Dales.

ADVERTISEMENT

You’re truly spoilt for choice if you fancy a swim as there’s a beautiful outdoor infinity pool with panoramic views of The Coniston Hotel’s Country Estate as well as an indoor bubble pool and private garden baths for you to dip into.

After your swim, why not indulge in their range of nourishing thermal experiences or soothe your muscles in the high-tech infrared sauna.

ADVERTISEMENT
Nadarra Spa, a spa in the Yorkshire Dales, has just been crowned as one of the very best luxury spas in the whole of the UK.
Nadarra Spa, a spa in the Yorkshire Dales, has just been crowned as one of the very best luxury spas in the whole of the UK.
Nadarra Spa, a spa in the Yorkshire Dales, has just been crowned as one of the very best luxury spas in the whole of the UK.
Nadarra Spa, a spa in the Yorkshire Dales, has just been crowned as one of the very best luxury spas in the whole of the UK.
Nadarra Spa, a spa in the Yorkshire Dales, has just been crowned as one of the very best luxury spas in the whole of the UK.
Nadarra Spa, a spa in the Yorkshire Dales, has just been crowned as one of the very best luxury spas in the whole of the UK.

Speaking of saunas, the Nadarra Spa has four to choose from including a Finnish, Himalayan and Aromatherapy Sauna. Now that is a lot of saunas.

Treat yourself to a couples massage before enjoying a beautiful meal in the Blossom Kitchen complete with an Outside Poolside Bar, we think you’ll find it hard to believe you’re in Yorkshire and not the Maldives.

We can guarantee that after an afternoon here, you’ll be leaving feeling completely zen and fully refreshed.

ADVERTISEMENT

And it won’t break the bank either, as you can book a day experience from as little as £69. To find out more and to book your trip, take a look at The Coniston Hotel’s website.

Read more

Featured image – The Coniston Hotel

Travel & Tourism

Manor House Hotel & Spa – The magical garden spa near Manchester with TWO swim-up bars

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Manor House Hotel & Spa. Credit: The Manc Group

There’s an increasing number of garden spas popping up around the UK, where you can soak and relax out in the open air.

But a lot of them are missing the key ingredient – the gardens.

That’s what makes Manor House Hotel & Spa over in Cheshire so special. It feels like it’s been built as garden first, spa second, in the way that pools and hot tubs seem to have been slotted in between established trees and flower beds and shrubs. 

It’s like stumbling onto the set of a romantic period drama, but with state-of-the-art spa facilities concealed into the grounds. I’m half expecting a sopping wet Colin Firth to emerge from a hot tub. 

And although the square footage of the garden spa is relatively small, it’s this clever landscaping that makes it feel like a never-ending maze where every turn reveals a new place to lie down. 

There are covered, swinging beds in a herb garden. A sauna concealed as a potting shed. Private bookable hot tubs behind a hedge. 

And then the real whimsy – the secret garden. Opened just last year, this corner of the spa is home to a blisteringly turquoise heated pool, surrounded by charming sage green ‘sheds’ (which are actually a series of cosy indoor relaxation pods). 

The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden
One of two cold plunge pools
One of two cold plunge pools
The relaxation sheds in the secret garden
The relaxation sheds in the secret garden
A huge heated pool
A huge heated pool
The Secret Garden's sauna
The Secret Garden’s sauna

There’s a second swim-up bar here, because why stop at one, a cold plunge pool with spring flowers wrapped around it, a lawn for sunbathing if you’re lucky, and a traditional Finnish sauna overlooking it all. 

It doesn’t stop there – weave along the footpaths and you’ll come across a sunken, circular hydrotherapy pool, a cosy summer house with noise-cancelling headphones you can plug in to, a gently heated panoramic laconium, hammocks, squishy sunbeds, swing seats, and so much more. 

The adjective that keeps coming to mind is ‘pretty’, but that almost feels too flippant for how gorgeous the spa garden is. 

And you might think with it being an outdoor garden spa that it would be a waste of time in bad weather – but you’re wrong. 

Manor House has built subtle shelters which look more like garden pagodas over a lot of the facilities here, including part of the main pool and swim-up bar, and most of the double lounge beds. 

The main pool and swim-up bar
The main pool and swim-up bar
The Potting Shed sauna
The Potting Shed sauna
A classic cold plunge tub
A classic cold plunge tub
The hydrotherapy pool
The hydrotherapy pool

But even beyond that, your classic spa facilities like the saunas and salt steam chamber have been constructed in out-buildings, safe from the infamous North West weather, AND there’s a sizeable indoor pool, sauna and steam room back inside the main hotel building. 

The metal cold plunge tub is exposed to the elements – but if you’re being brave enough to dunk in this, a little drizzle is the least of your worries. 

They’ve got an enormous list of treatments on offer here, whether you want to be scrubbed and rubbed into a new person, or give your skin a real boost with a facial. Once you’re done with your treatment, Manor House has built a cosy relaxation lounge, where you can pull the curtains across your own private booth to sip a cup of herbal tea and unwind.

Private relaxation booths for post-treatment
Private relaxation booths for post-treatment
Mezze lunch
Mezze lunch
Dinner in the Stables
Dinner in the Stables
Breakfast the next day
Breakfast the next day
The Salt Shed
The Salt Shed
Drinks from The Bothy Bar, a swim-up bar in the secret garden
Drinks from The Bothy Bar, a swim-up bar in the secret garden
The indoor pool
The indoor pool
The Stables restaurant
The Stables restaurant
Bedrooms
Bedrooms
Covered beds in the herb garden
Covered beds in the herb garden

Alongside all that relaxing, a typical spa package at Manor House may include an afternoon tea, a brunch, or a mezze platter lunch, with a glass of fizz served to you in the Pool House.

And if you go for the overnight, you’ll be sinking into a huge plush bed, full from a refined British gastropub dinner in the hotel’s cosy restaurant space, The Stables.

Manor House is currently running a full Spring Renewal Spa Escape, for the ultimate taste of everything that’s on offer while the gardens are in full bloom.

The Manor House Spring Renewal Spa Escape package

  • An overnight hotel stay
  • A 60-minute Collagen Renewal Ritual (a soothing, exfoliating back massage, followed by a luxurious collagen facial)
  • Full access to the spa, with 18 spa experiences, on both days of your stay
  • A delicious three-course dinner in the Stables restaurant
  • A full breakfast the next morning
  • A spa gift worth £20

You can see more and book it HERE. 

Read more

Featured image: The Manc Group

Travel & Tourism

Chester Zoo named UK’s best zoo for third year in a row with record number of ‘excellent’ ratings

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Kids at Chester Zoo

It’s official… Chester Zoo has been named to best zoo in the UK for 2026.

While everyone in and around Greater Manchester and the North West may already be familiar with just how brilliant the UK’s biggest charity zoo is, you may remember that, for the past two years running now, it has been officially named the UK’s best zoo thanks to tens of thousands of positive TripAdvisor reviews.

And now, the zoo has managed to retain that respectable title for the third year in a row, as the world’s biggest travel guidance platform has, once again, named Chester Zoo as the best-rated zoo to visit in the UK this year.

It’s even more of a cause for celebration this year, as the zoo has claimed a record 11,666 ‘excellent’ ratings for the first time.

World's rarest lions at Chester Zoo
Chester Zoo elephants
Chester Zoo has been named the best zoo in the UK for 2026 / Credit: Chester Zoo

Based on millions of online reviews, the updated ranking puts the beloved Cheshire-based attraction ahead of the country’s other zoos after earning consistently good feedback from its visitors.

Not only has the zoo’s strong focus on conservation and unforgettable visitor experiences made it the best in our country, but this has also earned it a place among Europe’s elite too – with the new listings placing it in the top 10 best zoos or aquariums in the continent.

“We’re over the moon to be named the UK’s top zoo by TripAdvisor,” commented Jamie Christon, who is the CEO of Chester Zoo.

“This recognition is built entirely on genuine reviews from our visitors, and that means the world to us. I’m very proud of everyone who makes our national conservation zoo such a special place.

“Every visit to Chester Zoo directly supports our vital conservation work, both here at home and around the world, and the past year alone is a reminder of just how much that work matters.

“We’ve developed the world’s first vaccine for a deadly virus that threatens Asian elephants globally, we’ve officially pulled a tiny species of snail back from the brink of extinction, and right here on our doorstep we’ve been planting thousands of new trees to create important new woodland habitat.

Read more:

“None of that happens without the people who come through our gates – and we’re enormously grateful to every one of them.”

Featured Image – Chester Zoo

More Travel & Tourism

New free exhibit Manchester Museum spring 2026

Art & Culture

Manchester Museum debuts new FREE ‘Human Natures’ exhibition

easyJet sale on flights from Manchester

Kids & Family

Discount flights from Manchester up for grabs as easyJet’s ‘Big Orange Sale’ returns for 2026

Manchester

Trains to start running to and from Manchester Airport all night from next month

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches